


Zayn and the Grim Reaper

by anecdotalist



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: AU, Daddy!Zayn, Fluff, Halloween, Kidfic, Liam is the Grim Reaper, M/M, Not Beta Read, mentions of minor OC deaths, not a very spooky story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 05:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5117471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anecdotalist/pseuds/anecdotalist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn's son demands a bedtime story on Halloween so Zayn tells him the story of how he and Liam really met.</p><p>This started off as an attempt to write a spooky campfire story but since it's Ziam, it turned out all fluffy anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks in advance for checking out my fic! I've had this idea brewing since last Halloween but didn't get a chance to write it and then today, I got into the spirit of the holiday and er, put this together in a couple of surprisingly productive hours. Well, productive in that it's finished. I can't make any guarantee on quality. Hopefully you guys like it. It's got kidfic and fluff and a touch of eerieness in it. Um, there's some things I'm not entirely sure about warning for because it'll spoil the ending but if you really want to know, [check the end notes for the warnings](http://archiveofourown.org/chapters/11773967#work_endnotes). It got a little philosophical which was totally unintentional and totally wasn't the point of the fic.
> 
> Also, this is the first time I've done any writing in 1st person POV. The fic switches between 3rd and 1st because when Zayn's telling his story, it's 1st but otherwise, it's 3rd. I hope it came out okay.
> 
> This isn't beta'd so if you catch any errors (grammar, Britspeak, internal consistency, characterization, anything at all), please let me know. I'll probably be tweaking it a bit here and there to make minor corrections.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Baba! Tell me a bedtime story!" Sahir exclaimed, running into the dining room.

Zayn chuckled, bending down to scoop up the eight-year-old boy. Beside him, Liam continued sorting through their stash of Halloween candy but Zayn could see him smiling out of the corner of his eye. Sahir's enthusiasm was, as always, infectious. "Did you brush your teeth, beta?"

"Uh-huh. Can I have my story now? You promised!"

"That's right. I did, didn't I? I guess I better make good on that then." He adjusted his grip on Sahir and turned to Liam. "Babe, you wanna come?"

"Yes!" Sahir answered for him.

At that, Liam looked over at them, grinning widely enough that his eyes crinkled up in the corners. Zayn felt his heartbeat speed up at the sight; God, he loved that man. "Guess that's my answer." He reached over and ruffled Sahir's soft black hair, making the child beam up at him.

With Sahir chanting "Story! Story! Story!" and Liam holding Zayn's hips and making choo-choo noises, they made their way to Sahir's room. Zayn rolled his eyes fondly. He was living with two children, really, not one. But he swiveled his hips a little teasingly anyway.

"Woo-hoo!" Liam said behind him. Zayn could practically hear the leer in his voice. Luckily, Sahir was too distracted by the possibility of a story to notice. Zayn set him down and he ran over to his bed, jumping in and pulling the covers up to just under his chin.

"I want something scary, baba. It's Halloween," Sahir said solemnly.

"Hm, something scary," Zayn said, pretending to think while he pulled over the child-sized chair from the child-sized round table in the middle of the room and sat down. In reality, he'd been preparing for this moment for years, trying to think of the best time to tell his son this story. "How about when I met Liam?"

Sahir scoffed. "That's not scary! You met in a coffee shop. I was there!"

"Ah, but that wasn't the first time I had seen him."

"It wasn't?"

Liam came up behind him and gave his shoulders an encouraging squeeze but all he said was, "This is gonna be a long story, so I'd better get comfy." His hands left Zayn's shoulders and then he came around from behind him and sat down cross-legged at the foot of the bed, leaning against the wall.

Zayn gathered himself and started. "Alright, so first of all...."

=======

_I was a very different person when I was younger, beta. Not this boring, responsible waiter in our family restaurant."_

=======

"You're not boring, baba!" Sahir protested.

"Hush, beta. Let me tell the story, okay?"

Sahir reluctantly settled back but he maintained a thunderous pout.

=======

_I was a very different person when I was younger. Not this charming, funny, handsome, responsible but not boring waiter in our family restaurant."_

=======

Zayn quirked a brow at his son who smiled and nodded in approval. Liam muffled a laugh and Zayn shot him a mild glare. He was never going to get through the story at this rate. But he didn't want to derail it further so he continued on instead of chiding his partner.

=======

_Before you were born, beta, I hung out with some pretty bad people. They weren't mean and they didn't hurt anyone but we were pretty stupid together. All we cared about was having fun. None of us thought about the future. We were just kids. Sixteen years old. We went to a lot of parties and made a lot of bad decisions. We drank a lot and we used drugs and we had a lot of...er, we made a lot of bad choices. And remember beta, drugs aren't good for you. I don't want you doing what I did, okay? But even if you get into trouble with them, I want you to tell me so that I can help you get out of it. Okay? Okay._

_Anyway, so one night, we had a big party. It was on Halloween so we were all dressed up. There was a lot of the drinking and the drug use that I mentioned earlier. So I don't remember much of the night. I woke up in the morning next to your mother. Her name was Marie and she was dressed like a waitress. I was a vampire. I didn't really know her. Just met her at the party, got to talking to her, she was nice and pretty, and we ended up sleeping together. That was the night we had you but we didn't know it yet. That morning, all I knew was that I had an awful headache. The worst I ever had. And all I wanted to do was throw up and curl up under the covers and go back to sleep. But I couldn't. I knew my baba was going to be really mad at me so I had to get home quick. I said goodbye to your mother and I left._

_When I got home, baba_ was _mad. But he was really happy too. Because you see, a couple of kids from the party had tried to drive home the night before and they had gotten into an accident. Two of them died and two others were in the hospital. Baba had no idea where I was so he was worried something had happened to me too. He made me promise to change and to stop behaving the way that I was. And I did. Because nothing that bad had ever happened at one of the parties I went to. Nobody had ever_ died _before. We were just supposed to have fun. But I couldn't scare my baba like that again. Not to mention mum and Doni and Wali and Safaa._

_We went to the funerals for the kids who died. One of the ones who went to the hospital didn't end up making it, so there were three. And they were awful. Everyone was crying. I only knew one of them - Michael. He was in my English class. He was quiet and he had tattoos on his arms. Mostly Latin writings and symbols you'd see in shows about magic and sorcery. I always thought they were pretty cool. But anyway, his mum was the quietest of all the mums whose kids had died. She looked sad, yeah, like her whole world was gone. But she was mad too. I could see it in her eyes. She blamed us - all the kids who were at the party. Because we didn't stop him from getting in the car and because we were encouraging his behavior. I was worried she was going to yell at us right there at the funeral. But she didn't. She never actually said anything to any of us after that either. I'd see her around town sometimes, dressed all in black for mourning, and she'd glare at everyone around her like she hated the world. But who could blame her? Her husband had died years ago and Michael was her only child and now he was gone too. I felt bad for her. But I was scared of her too. She felt...dangerous._

_Then one night, there was a mighty storm. Lots of thunder and lightning and heavy rain. It was probably just an illusion but it had looked like the blackest clouds were the ones right over her house. And then there was a quick series of lightning strikes. Right there. It looked like they were hitting her house, over and over again. One right after the other. Five of them and then the skies started clearing and the rain stopped._

_The whole town started coming out of their homes. We had all seen the lightning strikes and we were worried about Michael's mum. We watched her door but she never came out. There was smoke coming out from the back her house. Just a little. Finally, a man went up and knocked on her door. But there was no answer. He knocked louder and started calling her name but still there was no answer. By then, we were all standing around the front of her house and people were debating whether we should try to break the door down or call the police. I noticed that the gate to her backyard was open so I walked over to check it out. And it wasn't that it had been left open. It was hanging half off its hinges and the wood on the inside of the door was singed. In fact, all of her wooden fence was singed. Her grass was all burnt out and there were little fires here and there all over her yard, from what I could see of it. Results of the lightning strikes, I thought._

_I slipped in and the townspeople started trailing in behind me. When we came around the corner of her house, we saw that there was a huge crater right in the center of the backyard. On the far side of it was this huge oak tree but it was cracked right down the middle of its trunk and it was all blackened. On the nearer side was her - Michael's mum. Crumpled in a heap on the ground in a black dress. And in the middle of the crater - floating a couple of feett above it, actually - was a figure dressed in a black robe. It had a cowl pulled up over its head so its face was all in shadow. It had its arms crossed and it was holding a large scythe in one hand. It felt exasperated, for some reason. I don't know how I could tell but I just knew._

=======

"Oh, that's me!" Liam broke in, practically bouncing in place.

Sahir's wide eyes shot over to him and Liam smiled, puffing out his chest like he was showing off.

Zayn shook his head. He wanted to be mad but he couldn't, in the face of Liam's excitement. Two children, seriously. "Anyway," he said pointedly. When Sahir's attention was riveted on him again, he continued.

=======

_I was terrified. So I screamed._

_The people behind me started yelling too but when I tried backing up, they were pushing out around me. It turned out they were rushing over to Michael's mum. No one else could see the figure floating above the crater. The cowled head tilted to the right and then it shrugged and faded away._

_I kept asking the people around me if they had seen it but they looked at me like I was crazy. They said there was just a tree there and the crater was from the lightning strikes and it was probably just a trick of the light that I had seen something else there. They were more worried about Michael's mum. But she was dead. They tried to use CPR but it was too late. No one knew why she was outside during the storm but she was smiling so whatever she was doing, it made her happy. It was the first time anyone had seen her smiling since Michael had died._

_So we had a funeral for her too and buried her in between her husband and son._

_I couldn't forget the figure in black that I had seen. I had watched a lot of scary movies and I thought it looked a lot like the Grim Reaper. But then, I figured I must have just imagined it after all. Because those things aren't real._

_And then one day, your mum came to me and said she was pregnant. It was four months after the party. She said that she wasn't going to tell me at first because she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with you. But she decided that she wanted to try to raise you and knew that she would need help. So she came to tell me. I was scared all over again. Because what did I know about raising a baby? I was still just a kid. I told my parents and they cried. But then they were very helpful. They came with us to the doctor appointments and they helped us figure out how we would share the responsibilities of caring for you. Marie and I became friends but we weren't planning on getting married. We both still wanted to go to school but we didn't want to leave you alone either. By then I had completely forgotten about the Grim Reaper. That's what I'm gonna call it for now, okay? Even though Liam already spoiled that for you._

_On the night you were born though, there were complications, as you know. We thought we were gonna lose both you and your mother. You pulled through and I was so happy. But your mother didn't. And as I was sitting in the nursery with you, I saw a shadow passing through the hallway outside. I thought I was imagining things because it was pretty late at night and it had been an exhausting day but I kept staring at it and it was indeed the figure in the black robes and the scythe again. The Grim Reaper. It had its cowl over its head so I still couldn't see its face, even when it turned to look through the window. And it looked right at me. I could tell. I could feel the weight of its stare. I shuddered and I held onto your hand a little harder because I was so afraid. This thing had come for Marie, I just knew it. And I was worried it was going to come for you too._

_But it didn't do anything. It just stared at us for a couple of seconds. I stared back. And I tried to say with my eyes that even though I was scared, I wasn't going to let it get you. It tilted its head at me again. And then it left. Started gliding away down the hall and fading away as it went._

_I tried to forget about it and focus on taking care of you. Because you were just a baby and babies need a lot of stuff. But I couldn't. Always in the back of my mind was this worry about the Grim Reaper. I was completely convinced that it was real. But no one else could see it besides me. Why? I had no idea. I did as much research as I could, when you were asleep. But I couldn't find anything on what to do about it. Because it was Death. And people can't cheat death. Or bribe it. Or get rid of it._

_So I just went about my days as usual. I went to class during the day and your grandparents took care of you. Baba and mum loved taking care of you. Your mum's parents loved spending time with you too. They missed your mum very much and losing her was hard for them but you were a part of her and that made them happy. You grew up and got bigger, started walking and talking; I got my A levels and decided to help out full time at the restaurant. There were a few more times that I saw the Grim Reaper in town. But it never made a move towards me. And it never came near you._

_I kept track of the deaths in our community though and there seemed to be a lot of young people dying over the years. More than there should be. And then I realized that all the young people that were dying were people who had been at that party that I was at. But no one was stabbed with a scythe or anything like that. It was mostly accidents - car accidents, overdoses._

_Then one day, when you were five, we were having a late afternoon snack in the coffee shop down the street from the restaurant. Remember? You were getting restless in the restaurant and it wasn't busy yet - the lunch rush had finished and it was too early for dinner - so baba told me to take you out for a bit. So we were sitting there and we were the only ones because people were still at work. You had your chocolate smoothie and you were drawing something on the placemat. I was drinking tea and watching you. Then I looked outside the window and I saw it. The Grim Reaper. It was standing right across the street and staring straight at us. My heart started pounding. I thought that was it, it was my time and you, my beautiful little boy, was going to watch me die. I almost started crying. I wanted to send you back to the restaurant but I couldn't let you walk alone. I thought, maybe when it comes, I'll beg it to just spare me for a couple of minutes so I could get you to my parents and you won't have to watch._

_It didn't move for awhile. It just stood there like a statue. There were a few people walking around outside but they didn't seem to notice it. They just walked around it as if they didn't even realize they were moving around an obstacle they couldn't see was there. I should have taken that time to grab you and run for it but I couldn't move. I felt like I was frozen to my seat._

_Then, there were no more people on the street. And the Grim Reaper started moving. It was holding its scythe in one hand. It pushed its cowl back with its other hand and inside it was a very handsome man. He had light brown hair that was slicked back and warm brown eyes. He looked kind, even though he was frowning a bit. He looked up and down the street and then quickly unzipped his robe and shrugged it off. He was wearing a suit under. One of those really formal ones. All black with a crisp white shirt and a black tie, shiny shoes, and an expensive looking watch on his wrist. He looked well fit, he did._

=======

"Hee! You thought I was fit! I knew it!" Liam crowed.

Zayn flushed. "Of course I thought you were fit. I told you that ages ago! Stop interrupting the story."

"I know, I just like hearing you say it."

"You look good in a suit, babe."

Liam preened.

"Baba! Can't you finish the story first before you get all sweet on Liam?" Sahir piped up.

Zayn and Liam laughed but Zayn held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Sorry, beta. Where was I?"

=======

_The Grim Reaper, looking not so grim anymore, draped his robe over the arm holding the scythe and made his way over to the coffee shop. He was walking on the ground now, I noticed. But that was just a small thought in the back of my mind. Mostly, I was holding my breath. What was he doing? Never had I seen him do something like that, in all the times I had seen him over the years. I didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I even thought that maybe he just wanted some coffee and he didn't want anything to do with us. But I knew that couldn't be true. I was at that party and people who were at that party were dying, one by one. It was only a matter of time._

_He came into the shop and the cashier looked up at the chime from the door but he just nodded to them with a smile and came straight to our table. My heart started pounding again. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He looked right back at me. He stopped in front of our table and said, "Hi, I'm Liam." His voice was warm, too. Low and smooth, like honey._

_"Uh, hi," I croaked out. "I'm Zayn."_

_He nodded, like he knew that already. He probably did, being what he was._

_"This is my son, Sahir," I said, and almost choked up on your name. You looked up and smiled brightly at him and said hi. My heart clenched and I couldn't breathe. But he just smiled gently and said hi back and it felt like the tension eased a bit. I sent you off to the counter to buy something to eat because I didn't know what Liam was going to say next._

_He took a seat once you were gone. My palms got sweaty. How many people could say that they sat with the Grim Reaper? Had a conversation with him? Granted, it hadn't been confirmed yet that that was what he was but I felt pretty confident in my guess._

_"You can see me," he said measuredly._

_"It seems like everyone can see you now," I pointed out._

_"That's because I'm not wearing my robe. But you can see me even when I am."_

_I nodded. There wasn't anything I could say to that. I had no idea why I could see him and others couldn't._

_"That's curious."_

_I nodded again. We lapsed into silence and I could hear you chattering in the background with the cashier as you debated your selection of pastries. Finally, I asked him, dreading the answer, "Are you here to kill me?"_

_He looked taken aback. "That's quite forward of you. But no, we don't kill people."_

_"'We?'"_

_"There's more than just me, of course."_

_"Oh." That was frightening. But it made sense, given how large the world was and how many people were dying in it every day. "So if you don't kill people, then what's the scythe for?"_

_"Ah, you see that too. It's just a symbol of my office. Well, it's also used to cut a hole in the dimensional plane for me to travel through. I come to collect souls when their time has come and escort them to the afterlife."_

_"Are you here to collect mine, then?"_

_"No. It's not time yet. I was just curious about you."_

_I swallowed, because if he wasn't here for me, there was still another possibility. "Are you here for my son?"_

_He chuckled. "No worries. It won't be his time for much much longer. Long past the time that you're gone."_

_I breathed a sigh of relief. "So, you're really just here to chat? Have tea?"_

_He shrugged._

_"What about all the people who've died from the party? What about Michael's mum and that lightning storm?"_

_"Oh, yes, her. She meddled in some dark magics, summoned me and tried to bind me to her will. She gave me a list of names and begged me to take those souls. I said I would because that's what I do. She seemed happy enough with that answer. The ritual took her life."_

_"So, the others?"_

_"Lived recklessly. Not all of your cohorts turned their lives around like you did. I don't have any say on when it's their time to go, I just come and collect when the time comes."_

_"When's my time?" I asked nervously._

_"I'll let you know," he said. Then he leaned his scythe against the table's edge, draped his robe over the back of his seat and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go try their Darjeeling tea."_

=======

"And you know the rest of that story, beta. Liam walked up to the counter and put in his order. Then he asked you for recommendations on food and you told him to get the chocolate chip cookies and he's been obsessed with chocolate ever since."

"Well, it really is the best," Liam said.

Sahir nodded. Then he turned to Liam. "So if you're the Grim Reaper, does that mean you'll take me when it's my time to die?"

"No!" Zayn said sharply. When both pairs of eyes turned to him in surprise at his vehemence, he said weakly, "It's just a story, beta. Nobody's dying any time soon, okay?"

"Okay," Sahir said agreeably. But he looked back at Liam questioningly and Liam winked at him.

Zayn groaned. "Alright, it's late. Time for you to sleep and for us to go get ready for bed ourselves. Sweet dreams, beta," Zayn said, bending down and brushing a kiss on his son's forehead.

"Want me to check for monsters?" Liam asked. Sahir hesitated, clearly debating whether he was too old for that or not. "I'll do it anyway. Just for my own peace of mind. Do you mind?" Sahir shook his head quickly. Liam smiled and then leaned over so that he was hanging off the end of the bed, peering underneath it. "All clear!" Then he rolled off and opened the closet door, sticking his head inside and saying, "Hello, any monsters in here?"

Sahir giggled and Zayn couldn't help smiling himself.

When nothing answered his question, Liam closed the door in satisfaction. "I think we're good for tonight. But call us if you need anything, okay, Sahir?" He made his way over to the bed for a goodnight kiss as well and then he and Zayn exited the room.

They made their way down the hall into their own room and Zayn's eyes were drawn immediately to the tall scythe in the corner of the room, invisible to all but him and Liam. Moonlight glinted off the curved blade but after all these years, it was a familiar sight and one that no longer made Zayn catch his breath in fear. On a special hook on the inside of the closet door was Liam's suit and Reaper robe, also hidden from most people's eyes. "Are you going to have to leave tonight?" he asked. Sometimes, Liam got called away in the middle of the night; sometimes, he didn't.

"Let me check." Liam pulled out a scroll from seemingly thin air. Zayn still didn't know how that happened but he chalked it up to more supernatural mojo. He'd also tried getting a peek at Liam's list of names but whatever it was written in made it invisible to his eyes and the scroll just looked empty to him. Liam still refused to tell him where he was on the list, only assuring him that when it was time, he would let Zayn know and he would be right there with him. Liam looked up from his list and checked the clock on the nightstand, murmured something about time zones and then said, "No, I should be good until early morning."

"Oh, good," Zayn said, sagging in exhaustion. He didn't think he could stand being alone that night, after finally telling his son that story.

"Oh, babe," Liam said, coming over and wrapping him up in a tight hug. Zayn wrapped his arms around his back and buried his face in the crook of his neck. "You did great with Sahir. Now he knows but he doesn't believe it enough to be scared about it."

Zayn nodded. He didn't know if by 'it' Liam meant 'death' or 'the Grim Reaper' but it was all kind of the same, anyway, wasn't it? And they were living with it full-time. Literally.

After a moment, Liam chuckled. "I had forgotten just how stiff I was back then. Proper boring, stuffy lad I must have been."

"Yeah, you were," Zayn agreed with a smile. "Totally fit but robotic. But I was too scared around you most of the time to notice, anyway." He remembered those first couple of days pretty clearly, regardless. Liam had stayed with them through tea and cookies and then followed them to the park. Zayn had been in a daze for most of it but Sahir had chattered animatedly to the Grim Reaper who, instead of looking grim or doing any reaping of souls, was being led by a little boy to go feed the ducks in the pond. Liam had clutched his robe and scythe in one hand and looked almost mesmerized by everything around him. It was like he had never taken the time to look at his surroundings before, Zayn had thought. Eventually, he got called away and had to leave. But he'd returned the next day. And the next and the next. 

Eventually, Zayn had relaxed enough to start chatting with him about things not pertaining to death. He'd gotten Liam to try Indian food. And then Italian and French and Chinese and Greek.

Liam had showed up one day while Zayn and Sahir were on their way to watch the newest Avengers movie so then after that, of course, they had to get him caught up on the entire franchise. And then they moved on to the DC universe.

Soon, Zayn had stopped seeing him as Liam the Grim Reaper and instead he was just Liam, the funny, charismatic guy with an unfortunate job who was great with Sahir and loved all the same things Zayn did and made butterflies flutter in his stomach every time he smiled or laughed and made his heart race with something that was very much not fear anymore. And well, Zayn wasn't a coward and he only lived once and he didn't know how long he had left in that life so he gave it a go and made his move. And Liam made a move back. And then he moved in. And then, well. Then Zayn and Sahir were living with Death and they were living their happily ever after and if it wasn't something he had been expecting, he supposed no one could ever really predict what could happen in life. Except death, which was inevitable.

=======

**50 years later**

The two of them were driving home from game night at their friend's house. It wasn't too late yet, though they'd had a long day, starting with brunch that morning with Sahir, his wife, and their children, then tea with Zayn's sisters (normally an every-other-weekend thing but Liam insisted on doing it that day, saying that he missed them and wanted to see them; he wouldn't be moved on the subject so Zayn, suspecting that he knew why, called them and made them rearrange their schedules to fit in afternoon tea at their house), and then their usual Sunday game night with their friends. It had been a good day, filled with laughter and beloved faces. Zayn was just waiting for that other shoe to drop.

When they were on a stretch of road that was empty but for them and the trees lining the sides, it dropped.

"Zayn," Liam said softly with regret. He rested one hand on top of Zayn's on the steering wheel. It looked wrinkled, just like Zayn's did, but it felt as smooth as it had when they were both young. Whatever magic Liam used to blend in with people didn't go any further than appearances but then again, Liam was never human.

"Yeah," Zayn said. It wasn't a question but an acknowledgment.

"It's time, babe," Liam said anyway, just as a deer leaped onto the road in front of them.

Zayn yelped reflexively. Liam yanked hard on the steering wheel. The car swerved sharply to the right and into the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No worries. I'm not leaving it like that! Just click to go to the coda. See? I'm not even making you wait for it.


	2. Coda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, there's a happy ending. :)

"So now what?" Zayn asked, staring down at the smoking wreckage of their car. Inside, he knew, were their lifeless bodies, but he had no urge to look. How Liam even left behind a corpse, he had no idea. 

But now the two of them were standing - well, floating - outside. Liam was back in his Reaper robe, though with the cowl pushed down, and he had his scythe in hand. He had discarded his elderly facade and was back to looking the way he did when Zayn had first met him. Zayn took a second to eye him appreciatively.

Zayn, though. He looked down at himself but where he was expecting to see the wrinkled hands of his 74-year-old self were instead the young and unwrinkled skin of his youth. He patted his face to check and no, there were no wrinkles there either. Then he realized that he was wearing a set of black robes just like Liam. He reached behind him and sure enough, he had a cowl attached to his as well. He looked at Liam, wide-eyed. "What's going on?"

"You're a Reaper now. Well, in training. That's why you don't have your own scythe yet. Gotta teach you how to use one," Liam said with a smirk.

"But -" Zayn's mind was flailing. He'd died. He'd thought he was going to the afterlife, whatever that was. "How did I become a Reaper?!"

"You married one."

"Well, yes, but -"

"Remember how I had wanted to change the vows from the standard ones? And how I had made us do a renewal every ten years?"

"Yes, with those purple flowers you said represented eternal love."

Liam nodded. "Heliotropes."

"And we said we'd be together in life and in death....Liam! Were you working magic all that time? Don't you remember what happened to Michael's mum? With the lightning and the dying and all that?!"

"There wasn't any risk of that. I _am_ a Reaper, after all. But no, I wasn't, strictly, working magic. It's just that our vows may be more transcendent than some other people's. Sorry, are you mad? I just thought, you know, you asked me to marry you so that must have meant that you wanted to be with me for the rest of our lives. And my life is, well, eternal. I thought you knew that?"

"Well, yes, I figured. But I just, didn't want to think about it much. I guess I should have asked."

"Do you...want me to reverse it? I'm not sure how but I can try to find out." Liam looked a little downcast and Zayn wanted to kick himself. This was not how he wanted to start an afterlife with Liam.

He reached over and threaded their hands together - his left with Liam's right. He noted that he was still wearing his gold wedding band on his ring finger. Good. Then he hastily checked Liam's left hand where it was curled around the shaft of his scythe. His was there too. Zayn breathed out a sigh of relief. "No, no, you dolt. Don't you dare try to divorce us. I'm thrilled. Really. Just taken for a bit of a loop, that's all. I love you."

Liam squeezed his hand a little and smiled brightly at him. "Love you too, babe."

"Now teach me how to Reap," Zayn said. Liam laughed loudly and happily and the two of them glided off, hand in hand, into the moonlight.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so the full warnings are: hints that Ziam died at the end (at the ripe old age of 74!). They're shown together being Reapers in the afterlife, which is why I didn't put in a warning for major character death. Because in supernatural fics, I kind of consider afterlife = life as long as the characters are up and about and interacting with each other. Is that wrong? Should I put in a major character death warning in the tags anyway?
> 
> If you liked this, please consider [reblogging](http://likealeafonthewind.tumblr.com/post/132293123958/zayn-and-the-grim-reaper-5782-words-by). Comments and kudos are <3\. Feel free to come say hi on [tumblr](http://likealeafonthewind.tumblr.com) or [lj](http://todriftornot.livejournal.com)!


End file.
